Hutch uses a new “turn-in-lease” program to add new $1 million-plus fire ladder truck

The Hutchinson City Council agreed to a recommendation from Fire Chief Steve Beer on Tuesday to use a new “turn-in lease” program to replace the department’s aging aerial platform truck, potentially saving the city nearly $330,000 over the next decade. Under the fire apparatus replacement plan, the city would lease a new truck for 10 years and then either purchase it with a balloon payment at the end of the lease period or start a lease on a new truck.

The 20-year-old, 100-foot aerial platform apparatus runs on all structure fires in Hutchinson, Beer said, averaging about 10,000 miles a year of all in-town driving.

The department has spent about $100,000 on maintenance on the truck since its warranty expired, and it needs another $100,000 to $150,000 of work for a new basket and waterway seals if the city plans to continue using it, but it would only have a resale value of about $30,000.